


Saving Nightwing... Again...

by Darkwolfthewriter (Darkshardthedestroyer)



Series: Bat-Brothers Forever [3]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Nightwing (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Alfred Pennyworth is the Best, Batbrothers (DCU), Batbrothers (DCU) Bonding, Bludhaven Police Department, Dick Grayson Needs a Hug, Dick Grayson Whump, Dick Grayson is Nightwing, Hurt Dick Grayson, Jason Todd Needs Sleep, Jason Todd is Red Hood
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:27:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23470159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkshardthedestroyer/pseuds/Darkwolfthewriter
Summary: Jason Todd just wanted sleep. He never bargained for traveling to Bludhaven, dealing with Dick's boss, OR becoming a coffee zombie. It just kinda happened. Or... Dick goes missing and Jason is the only one available to pull his sorry butt out of the fire and save him from being auctioned off to the highest bidding criminal. Chaos ensues, Dick gets whumped, Jason has to take care of him... and the Red Hood proves that despite the odds, he's always willing to go above and beyond for his idiotic trouble magnet of a brother.(Dick WHUMP) (Jason's a good little Brother)(Everyone needs a hug).
Series: Bat-Brothers Forever [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1686097
Comments: 67
Kudos: 347





	1. Chapter 1

Sleep was a rare commodity for Gotham vigilantes. Whether it be the nightmares that dragged Red hood back to his personal hell, or the undaunted nocturnal criminal scumbags that ravaged the city every time the sun sank into the sky. Jason Todd had nightmares worse than most did, but dying, going to hell, and being dragged back had that affect on most people.

He'd been busy lately, but when Tim Drake of all people tells you that you need to get some shut eye... well it must be time to get some shut eye. He'd just dragged himself in from the vigilante 'ghost shift.' That was the loving term used for the very quiet luxury sector where the rich people... minus Bruce... flocked together. It was stupid really, a bunch of rich old loons clumping together in one spot. In Jason's mind, that was a great recipe for disaster.

The cool night air had done a wonder at keeping him awake; but as he slipped into his apartment via the fire escape, his bed suddenly seemed to call for him, the thought of blissful slumber forcing his eyelids to droop. A fog settled over his brain, not a coherent thought in his head as he faceplanted on the bed. Sure, his gritty bikers jacket was staining the sheets with mud and some scum bag's blood, Sure, his boots were still laced; but darn it all. He wanted to sleep.

That was about the point that life reared its ugly head and tossed a wrench in the life of Jason Todd.

He groaned, barely registering the 'Imperial March' jingle from his phone on the nightstand. It did finally break through the haze of his slumber, and he blindly groped for the offending little device. He hoped somewhere in the back of his mind that he would accidentally hit hang up instead of pick up, but Oracle's voice dashed his hopes against the rocks of life.

Keeping his face buried in the pillow he shoved the cool metal screen against his ear.

"-llo?"

" _Jason? This is oracle."_

"Uh, duh... whd'ya wan? It's -ike..." He forced his gaze to the left, spotting the digital alarm clock. "three-fifteen."

" _I know. It's not late yet, I figured you'd be out on patrol."_

"Got the..." He broke off into a yawn. "Ghost shift. Thought I'd get catch some zee's. So I repeat... What. do. you. want?"

_"No need to get snippy. I need you to run over to Bludhaven and check on Dick. He's not answering his communicator."_

Jason groaned, burying his face again. Seriously? This must have been one of those, 'he hasn't answered his text messages in half an hour. Surely he's cheating on me' moments.

"-e's -robably sleepin.'" He muttered, voice muffled by a face full of soft pillow. He could practically hear the ire gauge rise on the other end of the phone. "or un'er cober."

" _His tracker's offline."_

Jason sighed and rolled onto his back. "Then he's probably in a dark spot where the transmissions are getting blocked. Listen, Bar-"

" _His vitals are coming in loud and clear, Jason... And I'm really not liking what I'm seeing."_

The Red Hood sat up straight, eyes narrow. Missing data was one thing, but if the vital read outs were still getting shot to Oracle's tower, then it meant something must be amiss. It didn't take a detective to put two and two together. Jason wondered what Dick had gotten himself into this time. He really didn't want to travel the half an hour to Bludhaven, especially not at three in the morning.

"We have no tracker, and no way of knowing where he is." Jason pointed out. "Batman's the better detective... not that I'll ever admit it to his face... why can't he do it?"

 _"He and Tim are tracking down a lead on a few Arkham_ _escapees."_

Jason groaned quietly. How many times had Dick pulled him out of the fire? Too many to count, more than he'd probably ever admit. He did kinda owe it to his 'big brother.' It was a running gag amongst the bat brothers- 'Damsel in distress Dick,' This was only because Dick didn't need their help very often. So when he did, they would tease him... unless he was at death's door. Then they'd wait for him to get better... and then tease him relentlessly.

He sighed, sitting up and pressing two fingers to his lips and shoving them against the pillow. "I'll be back." He breathed tiredly.

" _Jason?"_

"I'm going; I'm going... Just try and figure out where Dickie-bird is. I'd like to find him before daybreak."

* * *

_"Where are you?"_

"In Bludhaven. Stopped to get some coffee and call in a contact."

" _How'd you get there so_ _fast?"_

"Trade secret. What can you tell me about Dickie-bird's cop boss?"

_"Amy Rohrbach, Captain of the BPD, one of the clean cops. Apparently she's been covering for Dick ever since she found out about his 'night job.'"_

"You're sure she's clean? She might know what Grayson's been investigating recently, but I'd rather not involve her if she's gonna shoot me in the back."

" _Positive. She could have sold Dick out a long time ago. Her files indicate she's very dedicated to eradicating corrupt cops from the police force... and with Dick's help has done a pretty good job of it."_

"Huh... Speak of the devil... gotta go Oracle, the Cap just walked in."

Jason took a long sip of his coffee, watching the redheaded cop enter through the smudged glass doors of 'Grannies Diner' to take a look a round. Her eyes settled on him. He wasn't wearing his hood, but he had slapped on a domino mask as a precaution. Just because Dick threw his identity to the wind around this lady, didn't mean Jason felt any inclination to do so himself. He had pulled his jacket up over his spandex top to avoid making an even bigger target of himself.

Of course, he wasn't _too_ worried. Small diners like this didn't _want_ to pay too much undue attention to their clientele.

The mask must have given him away. And she was quite clearly one of those 'stay out of my city types.' The irritated scowl remained firmly plastered on her face as she walked over, arms crossed in a silent challenge.

"Who are you?"

"Wouldn't _you_ like to know?" He replied, taking another sip of his coffee. He crunched the empty plastic cup in his fist and dropped his feet off the table."Let's go."

"E _xcuse_ me?" The disdain was very much present in her voice. Her hands dropped, left clenched, right poised over what was undoubtedly a gun carefully concealed under her pretty red blouse. "What _is_ this? You call me up at two in the morning and say you have info on a kidnapping, and-"

"And you came alone. That in and of itself isn't real wise, _Captain._ " Jason snidely cut her off. Her eyes flickered right, out the window. A silent signal? "Oh... I guess you _are_ as smart as Dick seems to think."

Her eyes snapped to his face, narrowed dangerously. Her hand came to rest carefully on the pistol. "Where. Is. He?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Jason replied casually. "If you're going to shoot me. Do it outside where we don't traumatize these people, huh?"

Her eyes darted left and right, spotting a few kids in the next booth over. What they were doing here at three in the morning was beyond either her or Jason, but the cop had to cede that the masked kid was right. Her hand never dropped from the gun, but she nodded towards the seat.

"Sit."

"Aye aye captain." He fell back lazily, and she sat down in the next seat over. He heard a quiet click, safety being switched off on a pistol. He leaned forward, elbows propped on the grimy table.

"Now start talking."

Jason folded his hands. "I may have lied."

"I hadn't guessed." The sarcasm was dripping from her voice, along with distrust and disdain.

"I told you I had information on a possible kidnapping... but I _need_ info."

That made Amy pause, the woman's grip on her pistol tightening. Was this a ploy? Some sort of sick game?

"Is this a threat on my life-"

"Hood, Red hood. And no, Captain Rohrbach; I believe I'm trying to _save_ one. My brother, he's been... missing for a while now. More specifically, not picking up our calls. Then his tracker goes offline and his vitals take a negative dip."

He watched her eyebrows pinch together, hazel eyes boring into his distrustfully.

"I think maybe you know something." He added. "Because you know about his day _and_ night job. Detective Dick Nightwing Grayson."

Her eyes widened in shock.

"Dick?"

"My adopted brother, fellow vigilante, and the world's biggest trouble magnet, yes. We think he might be in over is head, and the big bad bat is dealing with a bunch of Arkham numbskulls. Now I know I haven't given you much reason to trust me-"

"You haven't."

"But I know who he is, and I know what he does. Now it comes to reason that we both know he's in some sort of hot water.... right?"

"Maybe."

"And it comes to reason that we should work together to find him... because he may be in serious trouble... We can go in circles about who should trust who and why, but while we do, who knows what's happening to Dick? Now please tell me how to find my brother."

Amy seemed to mull over his words, sitting back in her chair. She knew of the Redhood. She knew he was trouble, but the good time. From the GCPD's files, she had gathered that he walked the same moral lines as Nightwing, with the rare exception where a bad guy wound up dead. Overall, Batman had assured Commissioner James Gordon that Red Hood wouldn't be a problem. She only hoped the same could be said in her town.

"Under one condition."

"Hmm. surprise there."

"No killing in my town."

Jason chuckled, though the laughter was devoid of humor. "Trust me, Cap, if I so much as threw a dagger wrong, Nightwing would be breathing down my neck... again. I may not be in Gotham, but I'm still on Batman's moral leash..."

"Alright..." She leaned close to avoid prying ears. "I know that Dick was investigating a series of slum side kidnappings. Both as a BPD Detective and Nightwing. Three nights ago, he called my cell and told me had a lead. Then he vanished without a trace. I went to his apartment and found a mess of clothes all over the floor, the back panel where he keeps his suit was torn open. I found his escrima sticks stashed under the bed. Other than that, no prints, nothing."

"You took _cops_ to Dick's apartment?" Jason let a little pent up ire into his tone, glaring at her from behind the white lenses of his mask.

"No. I told them he was on vacation and went alone. Didn't touch anything either, though I did put his sticks in my car."

Jason relaxed, nodding. This cop was good. Maybe it did serve to have cops know who you were... as long as they were as good as this girl clearly was.

'Do you have pictures?"

She nodded, pulling her phone out and unlocking it with one hand. The other was still rooted on the gun aimed at his gut. Not that he cared. She handed him the phone. The apartment matched her description. He took careful note of Dick's suit cubby, and the way the clothes had been strewn about the room.

"Dick didn't get his suit out of the closet. The clothes are on a sliding rack. Normally, he would just push the hanging clothes aside and get his suit. He wouldn't leave his escrima sticks either."

"So clearly we're dealing with someone who knows his identity." The captain remarked.

"Do you have _any_ of his case notes?"

'No... I think he kept them on his laptop. I couldn't find it though."

"Perfect."

"How is that perfect?"

Jason smiled devilishly. "Well, Captain, they may have disabled Dick's tracker... But they most likely didn't disable the one in his _computer._ " He pressed two fingers to his ear. "Hey Oracle. Get me a beat on Dick's computer."

"Who's oracle?"

Jason shot Amy a smug look. "The Batfamily's eye in the sky. We need to go... Uh... Mind putting the gun away?"

Amy looked down at her lap. "Uh... right."

* * *

Amy still had a friend parked outside, so Jason let her go on ahead. He waited five minutes before following after her. He'd gotten her number, and as soon as Oracle had a lock on Nightwing's computer, she sent it to the HUD in his mask. It had been a long shot; and while it appeared that Dick's kidnappers were good, they weren't good enough.

They'd made several crucial errors so far. Had they been a little more attentive, Jason wouldn't have a lead. The second 'boy wonder' arranged to meet Captain Rohrbach about three blocks away from the blip at a small cafe. He was on a coffee spree this morning. He checked his watch- Four-thirty. He still had time to find Dick before sunrise.

"Are you addicted to coffee as much as Dick is?"

Jason turned to see Amy walking up, this time in uniform with a bullet proof vest.

"You should see our little brother, Red Robin. He's scarfing down more coffee than Dick, myself, and Batman combined." Jason stared at the murky brown liquid in his cup. "Honestly I haven't slept in days. I'm dead on my feet and this is barely cutting it anymore... But I can crash _after_ we find Dick."

"Are you sure it's safe-"

"Honey, there's nothing safe about anything I do... ever. Oracle found Dick's laptop. It's three blocks away from here in the old Magna Theater. Place has been closed down for years; so it's more than likely not a wild bird chase."

Amy quirked an eyebrow at Jason's quip. The teen ignored the look and tossed his coffee away, sliding his Red Mask back over his face and unzipping his jacket to reveal the red bat on his chest.

"Shall we?"

"Lead the way, Red Hood."

* * *

The two sat crouched across the street overlooking the boarded up theater. Jason had binoculars out, hoping to scope out the situation from afar. "Got one... two... four guards on the parameter, rotations every two minutes. They're armed, clearly trying to stay in the shadows to avoid detection. I think I can slip by them."

"I'd say the legal thing to do would be get a warrant... but I'm covering for a vigilante... So that'd be pointless."

"You're two for two, honey." Jason remarked, never peeling his eyes away from the binoculars.

"But I'm still coming with you." Amy added, crossing her arms.

"Ah, no. It'd be better if you stayed back."

"This isn't a negotiation. If Dick's in there, you're gonna need help getting him out."

Red hood sighed through his nose, pulling the binoculars away and muttering something under his breath. She had no doubt it was the closest thing she was going to get to a confirmation. But tonight was full of surprises. "Keep up."

He put the binoculars away and tore off into the night. Amy wasn't expecting it, and thus 'keeping up' would prove to be a bit of a challenge. She was a yard or two behind him. He darted towards the chain link fence around the back loading bay. The guards were mid-rotation, and Amy knew time was of the essence. He had easily vaulted over, but Amy was forced to scramble over. By the time her feet crunched in the gravel on the other side, he was already sliding into the shadows of the back entrance. She silently caught up. He gave her a semi-impressed look from under the mask, but she couldn't see it.

Ducking down- "Cover me." He whispered, pulling a bobby pin out of his back pocket and jiggling the lock. Amy pulled her gun out and stood with her back to him, letting him work despite the screaming disapproval in her head. She was well aware this could be a trap, that he could be working for the bad guys... but her gut seemed to think otherwise. There were some things that helped her believe that he _could_ be Dick's brother. For one, he always mentioned having little brothers. Three to be specific. Someone called Jason, who was a bit younger than him, another named Tim who was quite a bit younger, and third named Damien who was _way_ younger. She suspected that this was Jason. The personality always fit, the height too. She'd seen a family selfie.

If Dick was Nightwing, Bruce Wayne was likely batman, meaning that this was likely Jason Todd. She didn't have to work hard to put two and two together. She had never told a soul, not even Dick, that she knew who his family was. It didn't matter. The door creaked open just as the guard rounded the corner, and a hand snagged the back of her vest, yanking her inside the dark doorway.

Jason closed the door, leaving them in absolute darkness... Well her at least. For Jason, his helmet provided night vision. Amy wasn't so lucky. His hand came to rest gently on her wrist, and he led her along in complete silence, not a sound made from his shoes. She tried to match, pressing her toes down first. If they were caught, then she could only imagine what would happen.

They came to another doorway, a small wave of light shining in under the door. Jason pushed his ear to the door and finally dared to open it. They were in a hallway, wooden, old fashioned, and looking rather worn out. It was lit by a series of lamps on the wall. Jason looked both ways, releasing Amy's hand and silently gesturing for her to follow. He stayed low, jogging silently to the left.

He peered around a bend in the hall before slipping around. Amy caught up. The hallway opened into a massive semi circular shaped theater with a wooden stage in the middle back. The tiered seats were wrapped around the stage like an old Greek Amphitheater.

Two men were standing in front of the stage. Jason put an arm out and stopped Amy from advancing, putting a cupped hand over his ear. _listen_.

"-auction is set up for tomorrow, Jedediah." The first man said. "We'll have our captive brought over in the morning before hand."

"Excellent. I spread the word amongst the criminal empires here in the Haven; and I'll suspect they'll pay top dollar for Nightwing. They have much reason to hate him." The second, a man in a metal armor with a bandana around his nose replied, crossing his arms. Jason tensed, ready to spring, but Amy put a hand on his arm. "The auction's at nine o' clock. Have him here at eight."

"Yes, sir."

Amy gave Jason a pointed look, motioning for them to go. If the kid wanted to protest, he didn't, letting out a quiet yet audible sigh.

* * *

"I could have taken them."

Amy nodded. There was no doubt about that. Still-"It wouldn't have done any good. Nightwing's not there."

"I know. I was hoping I could punch in their teeth enough to get them to talk... but I'm also not stupid. You had a good plan."

"And you know what my plan was?"

They were both sitting on a rooftop a few blocks away, Jason sipping on yet another coffee, helmet discarded. Despite the mask, she could tell he was beyond tired. How he was still functioning? She really needed to figure that out. He nodded tiredly, finishing off his coffee and looking glumly at it. She handed him hers. 

"Thanks... and yes... You want us to wait until the auction. A lot of high profile police targets, all under one roof. That's a sweet score for the BPD."

Amy nodded. "I think it's time to get the my men on it."

'We need to secure Dick first."

"I agree. But how do you propose we do that? At the first sign of trouble, they'll haul him out of there."

"Easy. We buy him." The way Amy's eyes snapped open was almost comical, and Jason smiled slyly at her. "I have a plan... and you're gonna hate it."

* * *

Nightwing groaned when the door to the basement that had him chained up in creaked open. Light assaulted his eyes, forcing the bound vigilante to blink and groan as a pain stabbed into his head. They'd come into his apartment, beat him within an inch of his life, knocked him out, and tossed him in here... Then he was sure they'd beaten him again at least twice since. He was in a world of pain, at least a few cracked ribs, countless bruised.

"It's your unlucky day." A cold voice hissed. He remembered the boys calling this guy Wilson. He alongside Jedediah had thrashed him in his own apartment. How they knew his secret identity? He had no idea. But they did, and they'd assaulted him on his home turf. "Today someone a lot more malicious than me is gonna get their mitts on you."

Nightwing tried to scowl at him. But it fell flat. Two of Wilson's bodygaurds stalked in, dressed all in black with smooth featureless black masks. With no particular care to his un-numerous injuries, they yanked him to his feet, shoving him towards the door." 

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for coming to this... prestigious event!" Jedediah, now dressed in a fine suit with a featureless black mask that resembled the court of owls faceplate stood on stage. Countless criminals, mob bosses, gangsters, and powered nuisances stood around the stage, some sitting and sipping fine wines, others chatting quietly. At Jedediah's boom, a hush fell over the crowd. "As you know, I came to this wonderful city to begin my career of capturing heroes. I started with a much hated vigilante, someone who has stomped on your business! Turned you all into laughing stocks! He is the bane to the profitable, a psychopath who's done nothing, but terrorize you _all!_ And I've brought him to his knees!"

The curtains behind Jedediah pulled aside, and a spotlight whooshed to life. In it's heat inducing light was a blue and black clad vigilante. He had been chained up well, and sat on his knees, two goons keeping him there by holding AK-47s to his head.

"And to any willing to pay the highest price, this vigilante will be yours within the hour, to do with as you please!"

Nightwing's vision was blurring, the pain debilitating to most vigilantes. Most of the time, his high pain threshold was a blessing. Today, it was far from it. He stared into the crowds. He could see so many of the Bludhaven underworld there, so many people he had ticked off... people who wanted to make him suffer.

"Shall we start the bidding at one hundred thousand?!" Jedediah called. And suddenly, with wild enthusiasm, hands tore into the air. It got up to three million before the bidding slowed to two or three people. Finally it settled.

"Going once, twice, and-"

"Four million!"

_Joker_

Dick's heart dropped as the green haired clown jumped dramatically over the seating and landed in front of the stage. Apparently he wasn't expected, if the gasps of the crowds were any indication. The clown prince of crime, in Bludhaven. Dick couldn't help but think back to what this freak did to Jason... Oh how far they'd come. He had no doubt the Joker had far worse in mind for the first robin, a much hated enemy. Dick sagged as he realized that no one knew where he was. He was going to die at the Joker's hands. It would be a long and painful procession too.

"Four million!" Jedediah cried ecstatically. "Do I hear four-million ten thousand?"

Another hand shot into the air, and Dick narrowed his eyes. The crowds gasped once more and rather quickly dispersed to create a spacious circle around the Red Hood. The masked man settled Joker with an unreadable look. Joker looked surprised.

"Well well... And here I thought _I_ was the only surprised guest. Four million twenty-thousand!"

Red Hood silently raised his hand again, upping by another ten thousand. Joker looked agitated.

"Five million!" Joker cried, his voice cracking in irritation. "And as a bonus, I'll even lend you Harley for a spell! You can't seriously be considering selling Nightwing to this vigilante!"

Jedediah frowned.

Red hood raised his hand again, but Jedediah shook his head. No way in heck was a vigilante rescuing Nightwing so they could retaliate later. "Sold to the Joker..."

Dick stared at Red hood brokenly. His masked brother had actually stumbled back, looking horrified if his body language was anything to go by. A puff of smoke shot up from his feet as he vanished, wanting to make a clean break for it before people started shooting at him. Dick felt the weight of hopelessness. Jason had failed. A horrible and grating laugh tore through the theater.

"Oh Nightwing..." Joker hopped on stage, brushing past Jedediah and kneeling next to the bruised bird. He shoved his fingers against Dick's lips and forced smile on his face. "Turn that frown _upside down!_ Just think of all the _fun_ we're gonna have! Just you... me... and a whole lotta pain."

Dick blinked back tears. They wouldn't fall. No. It wasn't over. He had to have hope. He pulled his face away, glaring daggers at Batman's arch enemy. The green haired menace laughed darkly, and pain tore through his back as a rifle butt slammed down on it.

* * *

Dick's head was on fire, the back of his neck aching. He was tied up with chain by the wrists, suspending him above the ground. His shoulders and rib cage were on fire, burning agony. Every minute shift sent fire tearing through his back and all the way to his wrists.

He was back in the basement. Jedediah was speaking with the Joker.

"My men and I are vacating the premise. After the police ambush, we decided it'd be better to make ourselves scarce. You may keep the place if you so desire."

"Why thank you, Wilson my boy... Now please... leave me in peace... I'd like to make his next few minutes as hellish as possible.... until my men get here to transport him back to Gotham."

"Yes sir. If I may... How did you know about this?"

"Gotham's less than an hour away. I've been keeping tabs on Batsy's little sidekick over here for a long time now. My ears on the ground caught word of your auction... so I came running."

"Hmph. Alright. I'm the last one out... He's all yours."

Joker watched Wilson stalk out, closing the door behind him. The Joker waited a long moment before laughing deeply, his cackle going full pitch in a matter of seconds. "Well well well. I can't tell you how long I've been waiting for _this_."

Dick groaned, head sagging. He shuddered as the Joker dropped a duffel bag on the table, pulling out a crowbar and a bat.

"Before I get started... how about some fresh air, hmm?" Chuckles stalked over to the window, undoing the latch and cranking the narrow gap open. If Dick hadn't been gagged, he would have cried for help. He stared at the baseball bat and the crow bar with sinking hopes. The Joker was never very original, but on the uphand, there were a lot more painful things the clown prince of crime could be doing to him... or may even _be_ planning to do.

Joker stalked back to the table.

And that's when the basement door splintered under someone's heel. The Joker jumped as Red hood stormed into the room, gun in hand.

"Took you long enough." The Joker declared. Red Hood took off his mask... but it wasn't Jason underneath. It was none other than police captain Amy Rohrbach. He glanced over to see the Joker popping a disk out of his mouth. "I hate talking with that thing. Gives me a sore throat."

And coming out of the Joker's mouth was Jason's voice.

Now he could cry. A tear slipped down Dick's cheek as he sagged against his chains.

Soon Jason had peeled away the white mask that made him look like the Joker. Amy was sliding Hood's jacket off. She had buffed up with her bullet proof vest to fill out Jason's spandex top, making her look male to anyone who _wasn't_ looking at her narrow her legs were... And quite clearly no one was.

"Dick." Amy called out, walking up to him. "Just relax. We're gonna get you down from there."

He let out a groan of acknowledgement. Jason picked up the crowbar and dragged the table over next to dick. "If I ever see another crowbar, it'll be too soon." Jason muttered, hopping on the table. "Hey, Dick... Did I give you a good scare?"

Dick closed his eyes and let his head fall forward.

"Hey, stay awake." Jason scolded patting his cheek. He jammed the crowbar into the bolt in the ceiling. "Amy he's heavy... brace yourself."

Dick felt her arms wrap around his waist as Jason groaned, tugging down on the crowbar. Dick felt the bolt shift and cried out as his damaged shoulders twisted.

"Shh, deep breaths." Amy soothed. "We got you. Hurry, Hood."

"What do you think I'm trying to do?" Jason hissed, giving one last yank. The bolt tore free from the ceiling and Dick collapsed. Amy wasn't prepared for just how heavy the vigilante was. She did a good job of breaking his fall... by landing flat on her back _under_ him.

"Ow." She groaned making sure to keep Dick's head from smacking the floor. Jason threw the crowbar far across the room with bitter fury and hopped off the table. Dick felt strong arms gently roll him off of Amy. The cold stone pressed against his back and he bit back a whimper.

The cloth gag slid from his mouth, and he felt someone messing with the chains chaffing his wrists. "Dick, can you hear me?"

He shifted his head in Amy's direction, sluggishly prying his eyes open. "C'ptain?" He croaked weakly, trying to sit up.

"Hey there... Dickie-bird?" Dick let out a longsuffering groan. Now Amy was calling him that too? He missed the proud snort from Jason. Amy's hand came to rest on his forehead, figuring it was one of the only undamaged spots on his body. "Don't try to move. You're in pretty bad shape."

Dick took stock of his injuries and grit his teeth to muffle a cry of pain as the chains rubbed his already raw and bleeding wrists. 

"Sorry... But hey, on the bright side, at least you brought a whole lotta baddies down with you, right?" Jason huffed. "Totally your MO."

The chains came undone, and Red hood extricated his hands from the tangle of metal links.

"He needs a hospital." Amy declared firmly, taking a handkerchief from the pocket of Hood's jacket and mopping Dick's brow. He was sweating, more than likely from the pain, and an agonized wince had settled on his features.

"No." Jason shook his head. "That would raise too many eyebrows. I'm going to take him back to his apartment and call in someone from Gotham who's patched us up in the past."

"He could be bleeding internally."

"I doubt it. These guys are methodical, but they wanted Dick in good enough shape to sell to someone who'd finish him off. He'll live with a lot of bed rest. I came on my bike. Does your car have enough room?"

Amy sighed, looking down at Nightwing pointedly. His eyes were slits behind his mask, but he gave a wobbly thumbs up, groaning at the effort. How was he following the conversation? He looked even more dead than his brother.

'Yeah... Let's get him out of here."

Jason frowned. There was no painless way to get Dick out of there unless they broke the table and made a bulky gurney. Since being incognito was priority, they'd have to walk him out of there.

"Dick, you're gonna have to walk out of here." Jason warned him gently. "We're gonna help you. Just take it slow, put all your weight on us."

Amy gently lifted Dick's arm.

"Ah..." He hissed as his bruised shoulder was maneuvered so it came to rest over Amy's. Jason did the same on the other side, snaking an arm around Dick's waist, arm crossing with Amy's. 

"All right... one... two... three." Both of them lifted simultaneously.

"Gah! Agh..." Dick tried desperately to drag his battered legs under him, to help, but his vision swam, pain shooting through his right shin as his knees buckled. "-s'rry." He murmured as Amy nearly lost her balance. Thankfully Jason had a strong grip, steadying all of them. 

"Nothing to apologize for, Big bird. Take it slow."

They took a few baby steps, listening to Dick gasp and whimper as he put weight on his legs and tried to walk. Amy winced. She'd seen both Dick and Nightwing in rough shape before, but rarely this bad... at least not in the moment. She'd seen the aftermath of moments like these. It hurt because this was her friend, beaten and bruised to the point where walking _with_ help was agony.

"j'ker?" Dick hissed as they eased him up a pair of stairs, Jason keeping a firm yet gentle grip.

The question made Hood realize that it was Dick's feeble ploy to focus on something other than the mind numbing pain.

"We needed to make sure we got our hands on you." Jason explained. "And I knew RedHood wasn't going to cut it. They wouldn't give you to a vigilante... So I dressed up as that freaky clown and Amy wore my costume to help sell it. It would have looked suspicious if I... or the joker was the only one from Gotham." Jason dawned a wolfish grin, glancing around his gasping brother. "Hey Amy, you rocked that suit. How'd being the mighty red hood feel?"

"Your helmet smells like cigarettes and coffee."

Jason pouted at that.

They walked on in silence, getting upstairs. They were almost to the door when Dick sagged, in way too much pain to keep walking. He made a pained noise in the back of his throat. "stop.." he gasped out after a moment. "Please..." The captain shared a look with Hood. Jason motioned for Amy to step away with his head, and she released Dick's arm immediately. Jason readjusted Dick's arm before leaning down and getting a grip under the older brother's legs, scooping him up. Dick tried to muffle his pain filled cry in the shoulder of Jason's totally borrowed 'joker purple' tux. "Easy... I got ya." He heard his younger brother murmur. 

Jason made quick strides. Carrying Dick was by no means easy, but he'd done harder before. The red masked vigilante fixed Amy with a look. "We speak of this to no one." 

"Well... unless I need to blackmail him." Amy said with dry humor, hesitantly squeezing Dick's hand in reassurance.

"I knew there was a reason I liked you." Jason retorted, following the captain outside. They were in a condemned building, and Amy had parked her car in the alley. She opened the back seat and between her and Jason, they got Dick sprawled out on the back seat. Jason crawled in with him. Amy hopped in the front seat and shrugged her -or rather Jason's- jacket off and handed it to the vigilante before buckling up and taking off.

Jason gently draped the coat over his wounded brother, tucking it under his chin and resting a hand on Dick's shuddering chest. Nightwing was shaking with pain, pale and sweaty. He jerked suddenly as consciousness briefly fled him. His head lulled before he twitched yet again, trying to sit up in a panic. "Hey, hey... easy. You're alright." Jason soothed, grabbing Dick's wrist and hand and making sure to stay in the wounded bird's line of vision. "You're alright... lay back."

Dick tried to fight, but it was a downhill battle. He grabbed Jason's knee and shuddered slightly. The younger bird took his hand and held it between his own, a display of hidden brotherly affection often masked by teasing or bickering. The action seemed to remind Dick he wasn't in harm's way, all the older needed to pass out.

* * *

Pain. Dick groaned as he felt hands pressing against his chest, methodically. Pain surged through his chest, earning a pained cry from the injured bird. Two different sets of hands pushed down on his arms- not touching his shoulder- to keep his back to the soft bed he was sprawled on.

"Easy, Master Dick. It's us. Just try and relax. I'm almost done assessing your wounds."

"Still not gonna get over that." Amy's voice said to Dick's left. "Nightwing has a butler."

"No no no. Batman has a butler... and Batman's butler is basically _our_ grandfather." Jason supplied from Dick's right.

"How bad is he Agent A?"

"Alfred will suffice, Mistress Amy."

"If I'm calling you Alfred, you'd better darn well call me Amy."

"Fair enough. Master Hood was correct in his assumptions. While there are few broken bones, none of Master Dick's injuries are life threatening. I'm going to stitch up the few cuts he received. I would think it best to bring him to Gotham."

"No need Alfred. I'll stay with him until he's in better shape. No matter what town he's in, we know he'll be trying to go out on patrol... and Gotham has the nastier baddies."

"So you're staying in town, Jason?"

"Yeah, wait how-"

"Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake... Jason Todd? Not that hard to figure out."

"Hmm." Alfred hummed. "Amy, be a dear and hand me that syringe Master Dick, can you open your eyes for me?" 

Dick groaned, fingers clawing at the sheets as the pain lanced through his skull. He fought to open them, staring blearily up at Alfred. The old man smiled squeezing his wrist before shining a penlight in his eyes.

"Pupils are reacting normally."

"Here's that syringe. What's in it?"

"A sedative." Alfred replied. "Master Dick, I'm going to put you under while we tend to your wounds." Alfred warned him, injecting the fluid directly into the IV stand next to his bed.

Dick felt the effects almost immediately, tensing up briefly out of habit before the darkness over took him.

* * *

Alfred finished binding the last of Dick's wounds. Amy was still sitting on the edge of the bed, stroking his hair. Alfred raised an eyebrow.

"It's not like that." Amy said as she caught his look. "I'm married."

"I see."

"It's just... he's put me through impossible situations, but I know he's good, and he cares about this city... We've been through so much... He's like my little brother."

"He speaks highly of you."

Amy smiled at that, a little touched that Dick would speak reverently about her to the vigilantes over in Gotham.

"Oh dear, it appears Master Jason has finally succumbed to exhaustion."

Amy glanced over to see Jason passed out on Dick's couch, arm draped over the back. He'd taken his mask off since his identity was no longer a secret.

"I'll keep an eye on these two if you need to get back to Gotham." Amy offered. "But something tells me both of them will will be asleep for a really long time."

Alfred nodded. "Very well. I shall take my leave. It was nice to finally meet you."

"Likewise."

* * *

Crowbars, pounding into his skin, shattering bones. He could see the Joker's sneering face, maniacal laughter shaking the room before a fiery inferno sent the walls flying outward, enveloping him in a wave of unbearable heat.

" _NO!"_ Jason cried, bolting awake.

"Hey, hey, you're alright." Amy assured, putting a hand on his shoulder. He blinked for a moment, the memories of the last day rushing back at him. He shrugged her hand off.

"Dick?"

"Still sedated. Alfred left a while-ago."

Jason groaned. "Course he did."

"Go back to sleep. I'm gonna make some lunch in a few hours."

"uhuh..." But Amy realized Jason had fallen back asleep already. Whether or not he fully trusted her was unknown, but even trying to stay awake was too much of a chore for the exhausted vigilante.

* * *

"unnn..." Dick moaned, twitching in pain as the agony of his broken bones and countless bruises hit him full force. Before he could try and sit up, the bed dipped as someone sat on the edge.

"Hey, Dickie-bird. How're ya feeling?"

Dick tried to find the words to describe it, but his brain was still at 'pain-ville station' not quite at 'eloquence station.' He blinked a bit, letting his eyes slip shut. What was hood doing in his apartment? 

"Me? I'm babysitting... obviously." Dick cursed the broken filter from his mind to his mouth. "Amy... I'm not so sure."

"I'm babysitting _both_ of you until my next shift in... four hours."

"Think you can handle some broth?" Amy asked, emerging from his shabby kitchen with a bowl of soup. Dick's stomach grumbled at the thought of food. Heaven knew he needed that, but it had been days since he ate. He nodded regardless. He felt Jason gently slide a hand behind Dick's back. Nightwing didn't have time to shoot out some snappy jab because- "Agh..." his vision blacked with pain as Jason helped ease him into a sitting position. 

"Easy... Easy... Catch your breath." Jason warned as Dick gasped and wheezed. Soon Dick could see straight again.

'Thanks... Amy, Jason... For saving me..."

"Anytime, Cowboy." His boss smiled. "What are bosses and friends for, huh? I want you to take it easy for the next few days, alright? And Jason? I don't want to see your ugly mask again until you've gotten at least twenty-four hours of sleep. Got me?"

"Yeah, yeah. _mom._ "

"Orders from Alfred, actually."

"Oh no problem! Dick's always wanted me as his roommate." Jason grinned."We'll rest up together."

"Good."

Jason sighed, turning to the window of Dick's apartment. So much for saving his brother before dawn. He didn't know how long he'd stay here in the Haven. Dick's apartment had been compromised, the first good reason for Jason to stay until Dick could defend himself. Secondly, the Haven needed someone to keep an eye on it. Sure that meant adapting to Dick's moral code... but that was nothing new.

Dick had managed a few bites of soup before his appetite fled. Jason joined Amy in the kitchen. She finished the last of the dishes. "You were right by the way."

"You're gonna have to be more specific. I'm right about a lot of things."

"I hated your plan."

"Me too. Dressing up as the guy who killed me is not high on my to do list... now what happened to Wilson and Jedediah?"

"Our men apprehended them with lethal force. Wilson got caught in the crossfire. Jedediah got a bullet to the shoulder. We rounded up twenty high profile targets..."

"Good. Dick'll get his justice then. I still wish you'd give me ten minutes with Jedediah. I could guarantee that he wouldn't get closer than 100 meters of Dick again."

"No can do, Jason... but believe me... I _understand."_ She put a hand on Jason's shoulder. "I really do."


	2. Retaliation

"He's still out? It's been ten hours."

Jason glanced up from his spot on the couch, spotting the police captain as she let herself in the front (and only) door to Dick's decent little apartment. She was dressed in her civilian attire, two brown paper bags from Chen's noodles looped over her arm.

"Yup. His last round of sedatives should be wearing off any time now" He reached out to grab a bag, but Amy snatched them away, eyebrow raised in a silent challenge. 

"Who said any of this was for you?"

"I didn't take you as the kind to sit by and watch a fellow crime fighter suffer starvation while you stuffed your face."

She chuckled, unlooping a bag from her wrist and tossing it his way. His hands crunched down on the sides to stop its flight, and only moments later he was digging through its contents happily.

They shoveled oily noodles into their mouths for what seemed like an eternity, the companionable silence stretching comfortably. Whoever said that constant chatter was a must, happened to be dead wrong. Huh.

"I wish I had a few sedatives."

"Why? You think Dick'll have trouble sleeping?"

"No. I won't be able to get him to shut up."

Amy nodded with raised eyebrows, lips quirked in amusement.

"Well I can't fault you there." She admitted as Jason leaned back and propped his boots on the coffee table. She noticed that the relaxed appearance was just that, an appearance. Years in law enforcement had taught her the ins and outs of body language; and it took all of those years of experience to spot the key signs that proved her hypothesis. It was minute things, the way his right hand was always empty, the gun only a few inches away. It was the way his eyes made the tiniest shifts to inspect the room, more specifically the window. The way his knees stayed angled towards Dick, ready to spring in that direction at the first sign of trouble... or had there already been one?

"What aren't you telling me?"

Jason stopped, noodles limply hanging over the chopsticks aiming to shovel them into his mouth. His eyes narrowed at her. They were unnaturally blue, flecked with green specks that looked toxic.

"Lots of stuff." He remarked offhandedly, breaking the look in favor of staring at his noodles and swirling them with his choptsticks. Then he popped a bite in his mouth. "y'r gonna... alf to 'e 'ore cific."

Crinkling her nose in disgust, Amy folded her arms and gave him the Bludhaven brand of the bat-glare. It was scary. Scary enough to give Bruce a run for his money. Jason swallowed and shot her a sheepish grin. "Nothing. Just worried about the idiot." He jabbed a chopstick in Dick's direction.

"Right." Amy hesitated momentarily. "I kinda gathered from Dick's passing comments that you two had a love hate relationship."

Jason swallowed. "Is that what they call it? Last I checked, there wasn't quite anything to describe my relationship with the Bat's golden boy." He seemed to mull it over before shrugging. "Maybe. Just out of curiosity, what does he say about me?"

"Usually calls you a pain in the butt and gripes about you getting yourself into trouble... but in that endearing way that tells me he cares. Other times he'll try and mimic your reaction to certain situations. I've heard a few stories about you pulling each other out of the fire, and I know he keeps a check list in his drawer at work tallying up who's saved who and how many times."

Jason cackled, throwing his head back. Amy watched his shoulders shake in barely restrained laughter. "Oh that _idiot!_ I thought he was _joking!_ " Jason cried, shaking his head wistfully. Dick had made a passing comment about keeping score, but the younger of the two figured actually doing it was more of a Damian thing to do.

"wh's an idiot?"

Amy and Jason both glanced towards the bed. Dick was peering at them blearily, ocean blue eyes twinkling a bit duller than they normally shone, pain lines etched into his face as he tried to sit up. His younger brother flung the noodle cup on the coffee table and hopped to his feet, darting over to press his hands against Dick's shoulders. "Just lay back, Dickie-bird. You're pretty banged up, probably shouldn't be moving."

Dick hissed at the pressure, muscles rebelling against his mental commands at the presence of pain. Too weak to fight Jason's command, Dick sagged back, sucking in a breath and trying to shift. Pain lanced through his leg as he shifted to get comfortable. The whimper instantly alerted Jason to his brother's agony, and his hand came to rest on Dick's forearm. 

"Easy. How bad's the pain?"

"Bad." Dick breathed. Amy raised an eyebrow. Jason meanwhile felt a little surprised at the admission. Dick kept his pain levels to himself for the most part, not willing to disclose his personal problems to others.

"Finally admitting it, huh?" Jason huffed, adjusting the morphine release. He watched the pain lines smooth from his older brother's face. "Get some sleep. We'll be here when you wake up."

Jason stood up, careful to move slowly. He didn't want the bed dipping to disturb Dick's slumber.

"Finally... admitting it?" As he plopped down on the couch across from Amy, he could see confusion etched onto the cop's face. Oh how little she knew. They lived in the shadow of one of the greatest heroes in Gotham city, an unstoppable machine of mass and muscle that never admitted weakness. While Jason no longer expressly sought Bruce's approval, he knew the others did. Even Jason found himself sucking up a lot of his usual complaints around the bat, adopting the stoic unbeatable facade that all bat kids wore in his presence. Whether or not Bruce intended to have such an imposing demeanor towards his own kids was something Jason could only ponder on. But Bruce did. The shadow of the bat left little room for the frailty of humanity... at least that was the impression most got around. How did he express that to an outsider, someone who'd never even met the bat in question?

"Jason?"

"Sometimes he tries to downplay the pain because he doesn't like meds." Not a lie, but not the truth Amy was looking for either. Let her think what she wanted to about his answer.

* * *

Dick's return to consciousness was less painful as the last time. He could feel the distant ache of injuries that were probably crippling. He could vaguely remember a passing comment about his tibia being fractured, explaining the pain in his left leg. Every breath sent dull aches through his chest, reminding him that even drugged, he should even his breaths out.

Amy was in the kitchen, humming softly; and Jason was stretching out on the couch, one arm draped over the back. It wasn't that particularly comfortable of a couch either, but somewhere in Dick's muddled mind, he wondered if Jason would like to take the spare cot under the bed instead.

"Hey, Cowboy." He rolled his head to face his boss. She was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, hands shoved in a pair of bright purple rubber dishwashing gloves. "You hungry?"

"Yeah." He croaked after taking a long moment to process her question. "A little."

"I'll be right back. Jason didn't finish his noodles before passing out; so I'll give you his." At that Dick, chuckled, clutching his ribs.

"You should know... touching Jace's food's a bad 'dea."

"Well if he shoots me, I'll shoot him back." She retorted stubbornly, grabbing the vigilante's noodles from the marred coffee table and ferrying the package off to the kitchen's microwave. He had to wonder yet again what Amy and Hood were doing in his apartment. Hood, he could understand; but Amy was his boss. She had a job to do. This was beyond her calling as his superior, and the fact that she still felt the need to hang around was unsettling. She was inconveniencing herself on his behalf.

He took a survey, his cloudy mind deciding that his previous train of thought required too much of his scattered mental faculties. It looked more lived in than it did when he was alone. There were small nuances that reminded him what happened when more than one person occupied a small confined space. Jason's hood was sitting on top of the television stand, his guns settled on the coffee table next to his boots, which- yuck. Despite the slight disorder to Dick's order, it was neat and tidy. He expected no less of Jason. The red mask gave Bruce's tidiness a run for its money.

He glanced out the window. When was the last time he'd properly seen the sun? He hadn't chosen his apartment for the view, but rather the easy access to surrounding buildings. Normally that was a convenience; but right now, it made Dick feel insecure. A glint temporarily blinded him, a flash of metal or reflective glass bouncing the sun across the expanse above the road.

Dick blinked, eyes narrowing. He knew he was pretty messed up, but a cold sweat had formed on his brow, blood turning cold in his chest. He saw a head rise above the air conditioning units on the other building, bobbing up and dropping back down. The glint flashed again, coming from a narrow crevice between the units. 

"Here. Careful it's-" Amy strolled back in, and Dick watched the glinting metal jerk sharply in her direction. _No_. Panic seized his chest, and he slammed his hands against the mattress, ignoring the agonizing spikes of pain alongside the sharp sting of stitches being jerked free. Amy's startled face was all he focused on as the injured hero pounced, lunging out of bed with strength fueled by terrified adrenaline. His hands locked around her shoulders, and out of instinct, he rolled last minute so she landed on top of him.

**BANG!!!**

* * *

The pain was horrendous, worse than when he'd originally received the wounds to begin with. Dick felt Amy slip off him, but the world was blurry. He was only vaguely aware of the way she was kneeling over him, a dark blob blocking the light out. Her cool hand was pressed against his face, her mouth moving, the words hollow, his pain torn brain not able to decipher what he was pretty sure was just plain old American English.

The hand vanished and pain erupted in his side. He let out a grunt, eyes widening. Things had become unceremoniously clear. "Jason, he took a bullet for me!"

He tilted his head to see Jason frozen in the window, mask on and guns clutched in his gloved hands. He glanced back over his shoulder, taking in Dick's prone form before, leaning out the window, fingers clawing into the woodwork so he could aim with his free right hand. Jason let off two warning shots in the general direction of the shooter, sub par aim, but good enough. The sound of the ear grating popping made Dick shudder weakly.

"Stay with me." Amy commanded, putting all her weight on his already abused side. His breath hitched in his throat, fingers clawing into the carpet. "Idiot." She breathed.

"If the- ah- shoe fits." He cheekily ground out, giving up on catching a glimpse of the wound.

"It fits like a glove." This was Jason, he was kneeling on Dick's other side now. When had he gotten there?

"I figured this place wouldn't be safe. Should have moved him to a safe house earlier on. This one's on me, Dickie-bird." He looked at Amy. "There are more, saw them converging a few rooftops away. If we move fast, we can get out of here before they regroup. Thankfully we're only on the second floor, basement's likely got sewer access."

"Okay, A- how do you know that, and B- are you seriously going to drag your brother through the sewers in this condition?"

"I know there's sewer access because its the required standard for all of Nightwing's safehouses, and yes. Yes I plan on dragging him through the sewers because they have the place surrounded. We'll be shot if caught out in the open."

Amy took a steadying breath and nodded flatly.

"Alright."

Dick felt Jason place two fingers against his carotid, the younger letting a tsk of disapproval slip through his mask. "Bullet. Through and through?" Amy's silent nod was answer enough. Jason reached into the hidden pocket on his torn biker's jacket. "Didn't strike anything vital." He produced two round metal disks and pulled the sticky cover off one side, lifting Dick's shirt with the other hand just enough to see the jagged tear in the flesh. He pressed down, covering the wound with the disk. "On three."

"J'st do it."

"One-" He pressed the nearly imperceptible button on the side of the disk not adhered to Dick's side; and Amy winced violently when she heard the hiss of her co-worker's skin burning shut over the wound. A weak scream lodged in Dick's throat, but Jason didn't try to stop him from bolting up, wrapping an arm around his back and pulling Dick against his chest in a restraining grip. He tossed the second disk to Amy. "Get the exit wound."

Amy stared at the horrid little device, wondering if there were some other way to do this. "Amy!" Jason snapped. Her eyes locked with his. Gone was the care free jovial Jason Todd. This was the vengeful red hood staring her down. He had a stern look that made the police captain wary. He was angry. Snapping from her wary freeze, she lifted the back of Dick's shirt, pressing the pad to the wound and repeating the process. Dick screamed this time... Fighting Jason's grip. The younger boy merely adjusted his grip to restrain Dick's arms.

"Easy Dick. Breathe through it." Jason felt Dick convulse with pain, dragging in one jerky ragged breath after the next. The injured bird's head went limp against Jason's shoulder, and if a tear was shed, no one said a word.

"go-" His breath hitched. "-tta move."

"I know." Jason left Dick leaning against his chest and pulled his helmet off. "Police are already on the way, people are bound to be milling about on the ground floor to check things out."

"I'll cover you." Amy said. "Where are you taking him?"

"A safe house." Jason replied. "I'll text you the location. Just make sure to delete the message."

The police captain nodded as she watched Jason lower Dick back to the floor and quickly stuff his helmet in the closet where Nightwing had previously kept his suit. Jason slid the partition shut and returned to his older brother's side. 

"See ya in a bit, Captain."

"God-speed."

"Not God speed, Bat speed." Jason replied, the quip stressed and weakened by underlying anger.

* * *

Jason had draped his jacket over Dick's shoulders, hauling the injured detective's arm over his shoulder and dragging him towards the basement. He found it easy to ignore the pained hisses, but only because there had been a time he'd fought valiantly to make Dick miserable. Despite telling himself that this was no different, he never could look at reality from false perspectives. "Look drunk." He commanded, and with a barely audible whimper, Dick purposely added a wobble to his steps.

They had been forced to hide the splint keeping Dick's broken tibia in line with a pair of bulky brown trousers. Regardless, it was a wonder no one noticed that something was seriously wrong; however, all eyes were outside. People were cowering in the lobby, many more seeking solace by holing up in their rooms. Jason had heard the scraping of furniture as people worked hard to bar the doors with dressers and other heavy objects.

That was Bludhaven for you.

Dick tugged on Jason's arm. "Need -agh ahh... to... sto-p." He weakly ground out, knees buckling for real this time.

"Hey, stay with me. I know you're hurting, but we gotta keep moving. Now.." He winced. "Quit being a baby and keep going." The older of the two could barely take any of his own weight, really not in any shape to be moving. Dick was in no way 'a baby,' and Jason would have to assure him of such later. Now the poorly conceived insult would serve its purpose. The mighty nightwing made a reappearance, Dick paling as he kept his feet moving by dragging them. "Guh." He breathed, squeezing his eyes shut.

Jason chose another tactic. "Tell me ya got a safe house nearby."

"I do..." Dick shuddered. "Basement... actually."

Jason went wide eyed. "You're joking. You have two safehouses in one building!?"

Dick just shot him a pained look that still somehow said it all. Of course he wasn't joking. "Own... the building." Dick's leg rebelled, giving out. Jason found himself taking a little more of the detective's weight.

"Unbelievable, I forgot. You're rich."

"Not's rich's Bruce." The older brother slurred, wrapping an arm around his waist to try and alleviate the pain.

"Hmph. Duh." Jason's brow furrowed as he cast a glance in either direction. "Think you can stand?" They were in a hallway just off the lobby, the door to the basement locked. There was no one present, but the wail of sirens indicated the presence of the cops. They were running out of time. "I need to pick the lock."

Dick paled at the thought, but Jason was already propping him against the wall. Dick leaned on it heavily, his world spinning... not that it had ever really stopped. The time passed too quickly. He felt himself sway and loose balance, but Jason was suddenly there, hands against his shoulders to press him back against the wall. "Dick... eyes on me. We gotta move. You have to stay with me. I need your help accessing the safe house."

Dick nodded weakly, reaching out to drape an arm over Jason's lanky shoulders. The younger brother wrapped an arm behind Dick's back and used his other hand to grip Dick's wrist. "Almost there." 

* * *

"Phew. You didn't tell me it was _this_ nice." Jason remarked. Dick's safehouse was built behind a secret panel in the basement. It'd take high tech equipment to even find the door, much less actually get in. The place was roomy, no windows though. The best term was bunker. It was bright, painted sky blue. The lights beamed to life at the first sign of movements. It was a full sized apartment, with a living room, fully stocked kitchen and adjoined with a quaint living room. Another door revealed a small yet well provided for infirmary. 

Dick tried to his answer, words dying in his throat to be replaced with a pained gasp. Jason knew the jaunt downstairs had taken absolutely all of Dick's reserve strength and probably re-injured him in the process. That needed to be checked.

"Don't talk." Jason advised, dragging him into the infirmary. He sat Dick down on the bed, placing a hand on the back of his neck and guiding him back. Then he propped Dick's feet up before cleaning up and grabbing some basic supplies. "I'm gonna check you over." He warned, starting with Dick's splint. Everything was still in order, but the limb looked even more bruised than before. He fought to control his expression. "Looks like you popped these stitches. Say, you get these wounds in a fight with Jedediah? It didn't look like the other torture marks... more erratic like they'd been doled out in the unpredictability of a fight. Dick glared.

"Right right. Told ya not to talk didn't I?" 

* * *

"Are all bats this paranoid?" Amy huffed, taking in the safe house. In her not so expert opinion, it was stocked up enough for the zombie apocalypse kids were raving about these days. 

"More or less." Jason replied. Dick had been put to right, and now slept under a cocktail painkillers. "Mine aren't quite this nice, and I don't have one in the same building I live in.... okay, fine, I live in the safehouses... but that's beside the point." He shot her a questioning look.

"The cops searched Dick's place. Thankfully it's brand new. None of them knew it was him that lived there."

"They're bound to find the list of tenants from the land lord."

"Not likely. Dick kept the list of tenants, even though he's not expressly the landlord."

Jason chuckled at that, taking a sip of his soda. They sat for a long moment. Amy observed Jason. A dark look had crossed his face, one that clearly signified the kind of thoughts coursing through his head.

"I'm going after them." He finally broke the silence. It may have been her imagination, but the specks of green in his eyes were glowing, a wicked inhuman fury driving the strange phenomenon. "I won't kill them, but I most certainly _will_ hurt them."

Amy frowned. "Jason, that's not the best-"

"They hurt Dick. Twice. Jedediah's made it clear that this fight is far from over." A tricky smirk crossed his face. "But don't worry... I won't do anything I'll regret."

"How can you be sure of that?" Amy challenged. She knew the Red Hood, and he had a reputation for losing his cool, for acting with his emotions rather than his head.

Jason breathed out, leaning forward, elbows on his knees. "Ever heard of an accountability partner?"

"Sure... but who your outlaws?"

_"Me."_

Amy jumped a mile, hopping to her feet and spinning around, gun out. The weapon was aimed at the sleek black combat armor of none other than the greatest bane to crime in Gotham City. 

_The Batman._

_"_ Uh..."

"Captain Rohrbach." He huffed respectfully. "Dick speaks highly of you."

It took a moment for the captain to recollect her fleeing thoughts, finally nodding. "Likewise. _You're_ Todd's accountability partner?"

"I know I know. It breaks every don't call batman code I've ever set for myself. But I want these guys taken out, and I know the rules... They're stupid rules, but whatever."

Amy let out a sigh and nodded, turning back to Batman. "You've taken care of Gotham well enough. Just... don't make working in my town a habit. Usually one vigilante to keep an eye on is enough."

Her boldness must have triggered something akin to respect, because she could swear a ghost of a smirk crossed his lips. "Duly noted, Captain."

Jason walked behind him, slapping his shoulder. "Come on, old man; Dick's gonna want to see you." Batman narrowed his eyes at the teen, but followed regardless. This was apparently a habit. She didn't know the two's relationship, but it appeared that despite whatever rough patches Dick claimed they had marring their pasts... There was mutual respect.

As Jason led the way to see Dick, Amy pursed her lips. Three vigilantes under one roof with a police captain. This was all bound to go badly. She was sure of it.

* * *

**This is now a five shot! Okay, so I wanted to have this chapter out a lot sooner, but found it a bit difficult to write. Even this chapter just didn't feel up to par with the original work, but I'll figure it out. Anyway, I've decided that this will be more than a two shot. I can't do a proper wrap in just two chapters. We'll get to see more of Bruce's and Amy's interaction in the next chapter! So stay tuned.**


	3. From One Parent To Another

"He's still sedated." Jason declared, rolling the drip line between his fingers anxiously. Amy was watching the small flatscreen TV in the living room, the news more specifically. Bruce -no Batman- was staring down at Dick, lips pressed together in a thin line that either meant he was ticked off or deep in thought. "He only had two down here. I doubt it was meant to be a long term safehouse at all."

Batman hummed quietly, fingers gently brushing the hair away from Dick's brow. The boy was pale, clearly suffering the effects of blood loss. Jason had him hooked up to a spare blood bag.

Then he looked at Jason. His second son was slumped on a metal bar stool at the end of the bed, shoulders hunched and elbows pressed into the top of his legs, forearms draped over his knees uselessly. Jason wasn't looking at either Bruce or Dick, but rather at the floor, head stooped tiredly.

"When was the last time you slept?"

"You mean without nightmares?" Jason dryly replied, pressing his palms into his eye sockets and letting out a yawn. "I catch little winks here and there, but I never... I never really get rested." He admitted quietly, finger nails digging crescent moons into his palms. "Doesn't matter though."

Bruce settled him with a look.

"To me." Jason amended.

Bruce narrowed his eyes, the lenses of the cowl whirring slightly in response. A long, drawn out sigh tore from Jason's lips. " _Fine._ I'll go take a nap." He ceded. "Just... wake me up if he comes around."

* * *

Bruce was flipping through the file packet, everything Oracle had managed to gather on Jedediah and Wilson Smith. They were identical Twins, French in origin, with American citizenship. They jointly owned and operated the New Horizons Industry in New York. Officially, they developed Tech for security companies and occasionally the American military. It was clear now that they developed tech on the side, for their own use.

It explained how they'd managed to take Nightwing down.

"Bruce Wayne, huh?"

Batman's head snapped up, swiveling to where Amy Rohrbach stood perched in the doorway, shoulder pressed to the metal frame.

"Can't say it's not a brilliant cover." She continued. "I wouldn't look at goofy playboy Bruce Wayne and see the stoic Defender of Gotham. Though before I knew this rookie was Nightwing, I suspected someone was funding you." She admitted, pointing briefly at her sprawled out subordinate. Batman was leveling her with a dangerous look. "Don't worry." She added nonchalantly. "If I was going to turn any of you in, I would have." She glanced at Dick. "Nearly did. Made him give up his badge. Then the whole thing with Block Buster went down. He shut everyone out." She sounded pained. "I found out what happened. Tarantula shot BlockBuster, and he didn't stop her. Turned himself in for murder. He'd lost everything." 

Amy sighed, but Batman's hard look had morphed into one of curiosity.

"Nightwing... Dick, as both a cop and a vigilante, has done _wonders_ for Bludhaven. Without him, we'd still be drowning in crime and corruption. I couldn't let him..." She sighed. "I couldn't let him throw it all away, so I reinstated him and said he was undercover, working for the police force. Even upgraded him to detective."

Batman studied her, lips pressed together, shoulders tense.

"And I didn't know if it was the right thing to do." She added. "Because I value the rules; but... sometimes you have to break them don't you?" She studied her immaculately clean nails, frowning slightly. "I talked to Gordon. And... I realized that , yes it was. He's young... my Rookie." A fond smile tugged at her lips. "But he's done more good for this city than anyone else has in a long time. You should be proud. Very. _Very_ proud."

"I am." Batman admitted, glancing down at his son.

"You don't tell him enough."

Batman tensed, glancing at her with the faintest look of surprise on his face -what she could see of it- "What?"

"He only mentioned it once, not long ago. But he said that you don't approve of his job, never have. He said you never acknowledged the good he could do as a cop, told him to quit. And, some jobs, I'd understand that."

"It's the guns."

Amy leveled him with a look. Guns. They dealt with guns every night. She'd seen Dick come home with gunshot wounds. She knew Bruce Wayne's parents had been gunned down in front of him at the ripe old age of eight. But if he was worried about Dick being shot at, he'd have never got him involved with the vigilante life to begin with... unless. No. having guns used against Dick... Dick _using_ a gun.

"I see." She nodded, puffing out her cheeks thoughtfully. "Understandable... but..."

"But?" Batman's voice was monotone, making her wonder just what was going on in his head, what thoughts were rolling around his noggin. Was he angry? Curious? Tired? She hated it when she couldn't read someone.

"There are some convictions I firmly believe should be generally passed from parent to child. Moral compasses, religious beliefs, code of conducts... But fears? Traumas?" She raised an eyebrow. "I'm terrified of spiders, but my kids? My son has a pet tarantula. I don't tell him to be afraid of something because I am. In fact, I don't _want_ him to be afraid of it because I am." She added. "Of course, there are reasonable things for you to want your kids to fear. Falling off a cliff, rapists, murderers. We do live in the real world. But just because you don't like guns, doesn't mean Dick shouldn't."

Batman sighed quietly.

"He's not you. In fact, he's made it clear he doesn't want to be. And from one parent to another, we shouldn't _want_ our kids to be like us. We should want them to be better, push them to be better, stronger, without our flaws. If they have a worthy goal, we should support them, not push them to do what _we_ want them to do. I always thought my little girl would be a doctor or a lawyer. She wants to be in the army." Amy looked wistful. "But I'll support her. Because as long as she's not doing something illegal, or selling herself at a brothel, I'm going to be proud of her."

Batman said nothing, lips pursed in thought.

"And this has been a very one sided conversation." Amy grunted, running a hand down her face. Batman shrugged slightly. "But... I've been meaning to say it for a while. Because Dick cares a lot about your opinion. He's still very reliant on your approval. And from the sounds of it, you don't give it to him enough. And as a mother with two kids of her own, I _know_ _you_ can do better... So just think about it."

Batman regarded her carefully, before finally nodding slightly. "I will."

* * *

**TBC**

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all enjoyed! I tried to incorporate some fluff at the end. This one may warrant a part two, but I'll take my cue on that from you all. Thanks for reading!


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